South Korea's export prices rose 40.8% year-over-year in April, while import prices gained 20.2%, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea released on Friday.
On a month-on-month basis, the export price index increased 7.1%, while the import price index declined 2.3%, the data showed.
The net barter terms of trade index gained 14.3% on-year during the month.
Amid the ongoing geopolitical crisis in the Middle East and volatility in the global crude oil markets, Indian oil marketing companies have raised petrol and diesel prices for the first time in four years by about 3 Indian rupees per litre, according to a Reuters report on Friday quoting fuel retailers.Fuel prices in India are market-linked, allowing retailers to adjust prices as needed without government intervention.State-run Indian Oil Corporation (NSE:IOC, BOM:530965), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (NSE:HINDPETRO, BOM:500104) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (NSE:HINDPETRO, BOM:500104), together control overe 90% of the country's over 103,000 fuel stations.They usually fix the rates of diesel and petrol in line with each other, and have not raised gasoline and diesel prices since April 2022.Public sector refiners have been losing nearly 10 billion rupees per day on fuel sales as retail prices failed to keep pace with rising import costs over recent months, Bloomberg News reported separately on the same day, citing industry estimates.(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)
China's broad money supply, or M2, rose 8.6% year on year to 353 trillion yuan in April, according to the People's Bank of China on Friday.The narrow money supply, or M1, increased 5% to 114.6 trillion yuan, while the balance of the currency in circulation climbed 12% to 14.8 trillion yuan.
Japan's producer price index (PPI) rose 4.9% on year in April and gained 2.3% from March, according to a preliminary report released by the Bank of Japan on Friday.The PPI had risen by a revised 2.9% on-year in April.Pushing up the PPI in April were chemicals up 9.2% on year, beverages and foods, up 4.1%, and transportation inched up 1.6%, among other items.In contrast, electric power, gas and water bills slipped 1.3% on year in April.The PPI measures prices at the factory gate, or those charged to businesses and distributors.It is distinct from the consumer price index (CPI), which measures prices in retail locations. The PPI is considered a precursor to future movements in the CPI, as retailers try to recoup costs.The Bank of Japan targets 2% annual CPI. Japan's March 2026 national CPI was 1.5%, up from 1.3% previously, while the Tokyo Core CPI - a leading indicator - softened to 1.5% in April.